Some owners of Samsung top-loading washing machines say their appliances exploded while in normal use. Now, federal safety regulators have confirmed they are looking into the matter and are advising Samsung owners on the best way to avoid the potential problem.
In a statement to Consumerist this morning, the Consumer Product Safety Commission confirmed it is working with Samsung to address safety issues related to the top-loading washing machines after receiving dozens of reports that the appliances have exploded while in use.
According to the CPSC, owners of the machines, sold between March 2011 and April 2016, are advised to only use the delicate cycle when washing bedding, water-resistant and bulky items. The lower spin speed of the delicate cycle lessens the risk of impact injuries or property damage due to the washing machine becoming dislodged, the agency said.
The CPSC warning comes after ABC News reported on several incidents in which consumers claimed their washing machines exploded, sending parts flying across the room.
A Georgia woman tells ABC News and Good Morning America that on April 8, she and her four-year-old son were standing next to the machine when it exploded.
“It was the loudest sound. It sounded like a bomb went off in my ear,” the woman said, recalling that nuts, bolts, and wires were laying on the floor. “I just remember covering my head and leaning towards my son and just screaming this scream that I didn’t even know I could scream.”
The woman says that Samsung offered her a refund, but she chose to take the case to court.
In fact, several consumers have banded together to sue Samsung in federal court, claiming that a support rod in the appliance is insufficient to hold the tub in place and can become unfastened during the spin cycle, ABC News reports.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s SaferProducts.gov database shows dozens of similar reports detailing explosions or other issues related to the appliances.
The owner of a top-loading washing machine notified the CPSC just this month that his washing machine was in use when a fire ignited and burned the back of his home.
According to the report, one person was hospitalized and a fire investigation found that the year-old washing machine was the cause of the fire.
In a report from May, the owner of a Samsung washing machine said that while the appliance was completing a rinse cycle of bedding it exploded.
The woman recalls the appliance “shooting plastic parts around and down the stairs into the basement, ripping the top off of the machine and the draining cylinder denting the body of the machine on all faces.”
One owner of an exploding washing machine told the CPSC in an April report that the incident felt like “a car driving into our house.”
The man says his wife then discovered that the washing machine had exploded, and the top flew off the base, being held only by the plastic drain hose.
“There were pieces of the washing machine all over the floor,” the report states. “The machine jumped forward about two feet and turned 90 degrees. It slammed into the dryer, leaving a huge dent in the side of it. The force was so powerful, it ripped the electrical outlet from its screws and bent it to the side.”
A spokesperson for Samsung tells ABC News that it is aware of at the issue, but said it was “important to note that Samsung customers have completed hundreds of millions of loads without incident since 2011.”
Consumers who experience issues can contact Samsung for more information and to determine if they have an affected washing machine.
In the meantime, the CPSC and Samsung are working to create a remedy for the issue and plans to provide updated information when available.
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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